COS Distance Learning Option

[PhoenixRisen]

So, I was browsing the "Stars-to-Bars" page for the Eaker Award to see if I'm missing anything (just need to present my speech and turn in my essay), and I noticed that there is now this link next to the options for COS or RCLS.  As far as I can see, this hasn't been discussed here.  If it has, my apologies.

It looks to be designed a hell of a lot better than the multiple-choice AFIADL-13 -- multiple essays on the various required subjects would, in my opinion, definitely help a cadet understand and retain the information better.  Although it's quite new (the memo is dated July 26th, has anybody had any of your cadets enroll in it?

[DakRadz]

I think if I get my Earhart soon, I'd do this and also strive to meet an RCLS next summer. Either way, this looks like an amazing program compared to what I know of the other.

No, it does not meet the actual in-person teamwork requirements. But the essays themselves seem- well, the topics are interesting to me, and I'd enjoy learning about and writing on them.

Seems an appropriate place to announce I am now a C/1st Lt.

[JC004]

Remember that you have to have a compelling reason to enroll in it rather than take an in-residence.

[SarDragon]

2. ELIGIBILITY. To qualify for the "COS Distance Learning Option," cadets must:
     a. Have earned the Earhart Award.
     b. Obtain their unit and wing commanders' permission (email "forwards" will suffice). Commanders: Please be mindful that the program's intent is to function as a "final resort" in service to cadets who are unable to attend the in-residence programs for good reason.

Emphasis mine.

If you have a good chance of going to RCLS next year, I don't think you fit the 'last resort' category.

[DC]

I'm not a fan of distance learning, but I am happy to see a program designed for cadets that cannot, for whatever reason, attend the in residence course. I don't think it will be an entirely adequate substitute, but it seems much more suited to the task than the old ECI 13. I like the writing requirements, but I wish they had included a speaking requirement as well, since speeches are a big part of the in-residence COS curriculum. They could be recorded and sent in or just evaluated at the squadron level.

Either way, it looks like a well designed and appropriately rigorous substitute.

[MIKE]

Based on the intent, I would drop this option.  It reads as "Oh crap! I'm a 20 and change y/o C/Maj and I want to get my Spaatz before I turn into a pumpkin." to which the standard response should be "Sorry about your luck."

[PA Guy]

I think this option will be grossly abused.

[Eclipse]

CAP is not a correspondence course.

[DakRadz]

Okay, let me rephrase.

I feel that both this and RCLS would be an adequate substitute for COS. As in, both of them to equal COS. Not one or the other.

And no, I probably won't do this one but at the same time it has potential (see above).

[Eclipse]

Who gets to decide the "last resort"?  I would say considering the scope of the activity, and the potential scope of the cadets grade, it needs to be approved by the Unit, Group, Wing, Region, and National Commanders before a waiver for this is granted.

We're talking about a very small number each year, and if you can get past that gauntlet, odds are you have a real need.

I also agree that "My clock is ticking and I never got around to it..." is not a valid excuse.

What's next?  Encampment via Skype?

[Ned]

For most of the history of the New Cadet Program, there was no "leadership school requirement" for the Eaker.

(Actually, there was no Eaker Award to signfify the completion of Phase IV, either, but you get my point.)

But when we upgraded the program to require some additional training outside of the squadron and wing, we needed to provide a "safety valve" for the tiny number of cadets each year who were unable to afford (in terms of time and treasure) to take a week or so away from college or job.

Remember, we are only talking about a "small percentage of a small percentage" to begin with.  The large majority of Eaker cadets will continue to satisfy the requirement via RCLS or COS. 

So the program was set up to allow a P-IV cadet to complete ECI-13.  According to our figures, less than 2 dozen cadets a year did so on their way to successfully completing our program.  (And as others have noted, ECI 13 wasn't a good match to begin with, but it was all we had.)

And now the USAF has discontinued the ECI course.  It is simply gone, and no longer available.  At first we had hoped that we could simply narrow the available choices and simply require all Eaker-bound cadets to take one of the in-residence courses.  But it is now obvious to us that we were too optimistic, and a small, but measurable, number of cadets cannot attend an in-residence course.

Accordingly, we have developed a distance-learning version to accomodate the estimated two dozen or so cadets each year that need it.  And the good news is that the new version is not an ill-suited off the rack course like ECI 13, but a carefully crafted curricula based on the standardized RCLS/COS curricula.  This course represents a lot of hard work on the part of the Corporate Team members in the CP shop at Maxwell.

It is new, and we will have to see how it works out.  And tweak it as necesary to ensure that it is a high-quality course.

Keep the feedback coming.


(And Bob, encampment is an issue for some cadets, particularly the overseas units.  We are open to thoughts and suggestions.)

[Ron1319]

I'd like to see some clarification of what is meant by "final resort."  Other than that, I think it's a good idea to include more options to allow cadets to fulfill the requirement, especially if we have data that shows that cadets are not completing the program due to COS/RCLS. 

[ZigZag911]

CAP is not a correspondence course.

Yet sometimes other obligations (school, work, family) get in the way of attending the in-residence courses.

If the regular military finds correspondence/distance learning options acceptable, we should too.

[Eclipse]

CAP is not a correspondence course.

Yet sometimes other obligations (school, work, family) get in the way of attending the in-residence courses.

If the regular military finds correspondence/distance learning options acceptable, we should too.

To a certain degree, I agree.  But in cases like COS, RCLS, and encampments, the majority of the worthwhile lessons are the subjective
leadership and followership experiences that are impossible in a correspondence course.  I realize members have all sorts of
challenges to their participation, that's why they are called "challenges", and the effort of participation is one of the things that
makes the achievement have some weight.

[ZigZag911]

Again, I would maintain that if USAF can accept ACSC or even AWC accomplished via distance learning, CAP can live with RCLS conducted by the same means.

Now, perhaps we could take a lesson from the military and set up 'seminar groups", even if these need to be virtual rather than physical, to create the community of learners sharing an experience....which certainly is a genuine benefit.

[SarDragon]

Re: encampments, and OS units: being overseas is a handicap, but, IMHO, not a huge burden, unless a cadet joins at 15 or 16, right after they get to that foreign base. I was in an OS unit for just over two years, and was fortunate enough to do two encampments while there. They were tiny, and might not have been quite as good an experience as CAWG, MIWG, ILWG, or others, but the content met the requirements.

Currently there are only six OS units -three in Japan, two in Germany, and one in Korea. Average tour lengths are three years. Even if we have that worst case joining situation, and no OS encampments, that still leaves a couple of years to complete an encampment after returning to the US. I don't know what the current Space-A situation is, but that could be an option to get a cadet back to the States for a regular encampment.

[Eclipse]

Again, I would maintain that if USAF can accept ACSC or even AWC accomplished via distance learning, CAP can live with RCLS conducted by the same means.

But ACSC and AWC are not gateways to anything in CAP - they are "value-adds" in our context, and in the USAF context they are surrounded by years of structured in-face leadership and related training.

COS is a gateway to a grade and a unique experience in a cadet's life.

[coudano]

I did SOS in place of RSC
and I will do ACSC in place of NSC

[ZigZag911]

But ACSC and AWC are not gateways to anything in CAP

ACSC is alternative to NSC, either of which lead to Gill Robb Wilson Award

[Eclipse]

But ACSC and AWC are not gateways to anything in CAP

ACSC is alternative to NSC, either of which lead to Gill Robb Wilson Award

And the Wilson is a gateway to?